The Effect of Electroacupuncture Preconditioning on Regional Cerebral Oxygen Saturation Levels in Elderly Patients with Diabetes

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of electroacupuncture preconditioning on regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO(2)) levels in elderly patients with diabetes. Methods: Forty patients undergoing elective diabetic foot surgery were enrolled in this study. All patients were aged 65 years and above and weighed 45-75 kg. All were characterized as class II or III according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists' physical status classification system. Patients were divided randomly into an electroacupuncture group (group E) and a control group (group C); both groups comprised 20 patients. In group E, the DU20 (Baihui), DU24 (Shenting), and EX-HN1 (Sishencong) acupoints were selected for electroacupuncture 30 min prior to administering anesthesia, while in group C, patients underwent routine anesthesia without electro-acupuncture. The patients in both groups were anesthetized using a sciatic nerve block. The number of cases with increased or decreased regional oxygen saturation (rSO(2)) compared with the baseline as well as rSO(2) variability in the two groups were recorded and compared. Results: There was no significant difference in the preoperative rSO(2) values between the two groups (54.4 +/- 4.8 (L), 53.9 +/- 5.2 (R) [group C] vs 54.1 +/- 5.2 (L), 54.5 +/- 4.6 (R)[group E]). Compared with group C, the rSO(2) in group E increased (50.3 +/- 3.9 [group C] vs 58.4 +/- 3.2[group E]), and this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Electroacupuncture stimulation can increase rSO(2) levels in patients with diabetes.